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Buying Club Member Page

ABOUT ORDERING WITH THE BUYING CLUB

IF: you live near Tuolumne County;

AND have been into The Farmory;

AND understand what we are all about;

AND you want to be a Member and pre-order your groceries,

YOU need to create an account at FoodClub. Although anyone can shop at MPO (Mountain People Organics) it is cheaper for you to be a Member of the Buying Club. Members pay $8 per month and receive the ability to pre-order and also get discounts on all other items.

Once you have created an account at FoodClub (our community shopping cart), you may begin ordering, which is ALWAYS cheaper than buying the Extras for Sale.

Azure Standard ~ This is our main distributor. We get most of our grocery items from them. We function as a “DropPoint” with Azure. You can shop from their website, pay them, and use my drop code 794345 when you check out. They will put all of our orders on a pallet and truck them directly to us. I will hold them until the next Market Day. You may even order chilled and froze items, as I open EVERY box to ensure proper care of your grocery items. We can also SPLIT cases on FoodClub from Azure.

Azure Standard started as a family farm that went “organic” in 1971. As a result of farming in this manner, they had an abundance and began selling to others who also wanted to reap the benefits of better nutrition. Their customers soon began asking for different natural and organic products which weren’t grow on the farm, but they scrambled to find those products for them. Thus, in 1987, Azure Standard was born. Azure is a shade of blue which has been associated with law, justice, and honesty. In raising an azure standard, they want to place an honest standard in the marketing of food. They feel that the correct way to effect a positive change is not to attack the way it is being done, but to begin to do it right. They are dedicated to the “organic principle” of cooperating with nature.

Veritable Vegetable ~ This is the distributor we use for our non-local, non seasonal, certified organic produce. Beginning in the early 1970’s, VV became part of a movement that sought to bring low-cost, nutritious food to neighborhood co-ops and community storefronts. This collective, called The People’s Food System, extended throughout the greater San Francisco Bay Area, and provided a large-scale alternative to the existing corporate food system. Through the years, VV has been an integral part of change in the sustainable food system movement by stimulating an increased demand for fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, developing certification standards, working to pass food and agriculture legislation, helping to unify the produce community, and supplying healthy, fresh foods to communities all over California and beyond. Orders are placed on Monday or Thursday mornings.

Frontier Co-op ~ Frontier Co-op specializes in natural and organic products. Simply Organic, Aura Cacia and Frontier are their own brands. They also carry an impressive amount of other products. Herbs, spices, foods, body products and bulk. It is easy to shop their website, but remember to switch back to FoodClub to actually place your order. Orders are placed when we get to $250 and the Shipping is Free!

Mother Lode Coffee Roasting Company ~ Since 1993, Mother Lode Coffee Roasting Company has been roasting the finest Arabica beans from around the world. They produce over 20 varietals and blends of coffee in small batch roasters. Our favorite, of course, is our own special Mountain People Blend, available ONLY in The Buying Club. Orders are placed on Monday mornings, approximately every other week.

Organic Pastures ~ Raw Milk…unprocessed, unpasteurized, and unchanged from what nature intended. Want dairy products that do not cause milk sensitivity, are easy to digest, and contain all their vital nutrients? Have you tried organic, raw milk from pasture-grazed cows? It contains highly beneficial nutrients, including: CLA, OMEGA-3 fatty acids, beneficial bacteria, enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and so much more! You can’t actually order these products, but I always try to have enough on hand. Find them in the fridge up front. Paid Members will get a 10% Discount at Check-out.

Local Mountain People ~ Entre Delights (fresh fish, organic chicken, organic beef), Diestel Turkey Ranch and Modesto Milling (organic animal feed). We order from these suppliers either weekly or every other week, on Thursday morning.

ONCE YOU HAVE SELECTED A SOURCE (top, left of your screen is a drop-down menu)

Decide if you want to SPLIT or ORDER.

SPLIT means you want to share in a case. Case prices are always better. Anyone can add items to the SPLIT list. Make sure you are adding the correct item number for the case, not the single item. It should say something like 12 x 8 oz instead of just 8 oz. I will often fill most of the SPLIT items, IF I think I can sell them as EXTRAS. However, if I know I already have them on the shelf, or in the Bulk room or fridges or freezers, I probably won’t order them.

ORDER means you want the entire thing. If you want the entire case of something, just find the correct item number for the case quantities. If you want, for example, 1 bottle of shampoo, don’t put it on the SPLIT list. Use ORDER for those items. BEFORE you put something on your ORDER, it is ALWAYS best to check the SPLIT list first. Perhaps there is someone already trying to SPLIT a case of whatever it is you want. However, if you REALLY want to get something, and are willing to pay the higher, non-case price, absolutely put it on your ORDER page. No worries.

JUST A NOTE ABOUT ETIQUETTE: If you order or split something, you are committing to purchase that item. If you remove it from your cart AFTER I have placed our order, I have to deal with whatever that item is. BEFORE I order is no big deal. Regarding the SPLIT List: AFTER I have ordered, if you are already in the SPLIT and want to add more items, be sure not to “bump” someone else off the bottom of the list.

Remember, you have a SHOPPING CART tab (top, right) that will let you check to see what is actually on your order. Items listed in RED are cases not yet SPLIT. Items in BLACK are going to be ordered.

That’s it! Easy-Peasy.

You will get emails from me 4-5 times per week. After we have sorted out our orders, I will send an invoice, letting you know what actually came in. I prepare these invoices based on what is actually charged to me. Sometimes the prices change, and I am sorry about that, but I really have no control over it. I can just update our database as often as is practical. If the price is REALLY higher than was anticipated, I will almost always let you out of the SPLIT and add it to the EXTRAS for Sale.

After items have arrived, I am willing to let them sit on the shelf for a few Market Days, but if they are still there after about 1 week, and I haven’t heard from you, I will usually send an email, reminding you of items to pick up. After that, I cut my losses and move items to the Sale shelf. 🙁

Any other questions? Email Arleen@MountainPeopleOrganics.com and I will be HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY to help you. Mostly, the questions are about where to find specific items… or when something is getting ordered…or ?

No worries.

and remember, anytime you want OUT of FoodClub and OFF the list, just send me an email. 🙂